Shell catcher for firearms



A ril 30, 1963 v. A. BROWNING 8 ,3 7

SHELL CATCHER FOR FIREARMS Filed Feb. 14, 1961 2 Shee ts-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

INVEN TOR. VAL A. BPOWN/NG ATTORNEYS FIG. 3

April 30, 1963 v. A. BROWNING SHELL CATCHER FOR FIREARMS Filed Feb. 14, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. VA 1. A. 5P0 WN/NG 3,987,387 SHELL CATCHER FUR FEREARMS Val A. Browning, figden, Utah, assignor to Browning Industries, Inc, Ogden, Utah, a corporation of Utah Filed Feb. 14, 1961, Ser. No. 89,316 12 Claims. (Cl. 89-33) The present invention relates generally to firearms and is concerned more particularly with a device for catching the empty shell ejected from a firearm. While not necessarily limited thereto, the device has particular advantage for use with shotguns of the semi-automatic type.

When a shotgun of the semi-automatic type is fired, the empty shell is automatically ejected therefrom upon the firing of each shot, the empty shell usually being ejected in a sidewise direction from the receiver through an ejection opening provided for this purpose. While this does not interfere with or endanger the shooter and may be of no consequence under most conditions when the gun is used, nonetheless it can be very disturbing or even injurious to someone standing immediately to the right of the shooter when the gun is fired as the shell is ex pelled from the gun with considerable violence. For example, in trap shooting, a squad of shooters, usually five, will sometimes stand in a line at positions or posts about six feet apart to fire in sequence at clay targets thrown from traps; and if shotguns of the semi-automatic type are used, the shooters are distracted and endangered by the ejected shells. As a result, prior to my invention, shot guns of the semi-automatic type have been very rarely purchased or used for this sport despite the many advantages of this type of gun, such as price and reduced re coil or kick to the shoulder. Also, many trap shooters desire to keep the empty or fired shells so that they can be reloaded and reused, this being an economical hobby providing a considerable reduction in cost as compared with purchasing new shells. However, this is difficult or at least inconvenient to do when the shells are automatically ejected and the shells are frequently damaged so that they cannot be properly reloaded.

Accordingly, it is an aim of the invention to provide a device for attachment to firearms such as shotguns of the semi-automatic type which will operate effectively to capture the ejected shell and eliminate the hazards and annoyance to others who may be standing adjacent the shooter. Included in this aim is the provision of such a device which is of simple construction and which will not interfere with the normal functioning of the shotgun.

A further aim is to provide such a device for catching ejected shells which will permit the shell to be readily and quickly removed for disposal or for collection and whereby the shell can be retrieved without damage.

Another aim of the invention is to provide such a device which can be quickly and easily attached or detached from the gun without the use of tools and which will not detract from the appearance or limit the usefulness of the gun.

An additional aim is to provide such a device which is foolproof and safe in operation, which is readily adaptable for use with a variety of existing guns and ammunition and which can be fabricated and mounted in an inexpensive manner.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a semi-automatic shotgun with a shell-catching device of the present inven- 35%1381 Patented Apr. 30, 1963 tion in operative position and with the breech block in firing position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side view with the breech block in open position after firing of the gun, the ejected shell being shown in dotted lines;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view of the gun as shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side view with the catcher housing in cross section and showing the catcher partially disassembled.

Referring to the drawings, a shell catcher embodying the present invention has been illustrated as applied to a semi-automatic shotgun of the type disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,499,090, issued February 28, 1950. Generally, the shotgun is comprised of a stock 2, a receiver or frame 4 having an elongate ejection opening 6 and rearwardly extending slot 7, a barrel assembly 8 reciprocable in the receiver, a forearm '10 encircling a magazine tube 11, a trigger assembly 12, and a breech block 14 with operating handle 16 which reciprocates within the receiver 4. In normal semi-automatic operation of the shotgun, when the gun is fired, the breech block 14 immediately thereafter moves rearwardly and the spent shell is extracted from the firing chamber by the breech block 14 and drawn rearwardly until the ejector (not shown) flips the shell out the ejection opening 6 in the receiver.

The shell catcher of my invention may be attached to the gun by means of a small mounting block or housing 18 which is secured on the receiver 4 below and adjacent the rear of the opening 6 and slot 7 and extends parallel thereto and somewhat rearwardly of the slot 7. The housing 18, which is preferably formed of lightweight material such as aluminum, may be conveniently secured to the receiver wall by bonding materials such as adhesives 0r solder or other means such as screws or rivets. As best shown in FIG. 4, the housing 18 is provided with a longitudinally extending chamber 20 and a vertical chamber 2?. which intersect, the chamber 22 extending from below the end of the chamber 20 and opening at the upper face of the housing rearwardly of the slot 7. Both chambers may be conveniently and economically formed by milling grooves in the inner face of the block 18 with the receiver 4 serving as the inner wall upon assembly thereto.

Slidably seated in the longitudinal chamber 20 is a plunger 24 which is urged rearwardly by a coil spring 26 disposed between the forward closed end of the chamber 20 and a recess 25 in the forward end of the plunger 24. The rear end of the plunger 24 is provided with a bevelled top edge 29 and sliding movement of the plunger is limited by a limit pin 30 disposed in the vertical bore 28 of the housing and which extends through a slot 32 in the plunger 24. In this manner, the plunger 24 can project only partially into the vertical passage 22, as shown in FIG. 4. The limit pin 30 also prevents turning of the plunger so as to retain the beveled edge 29 in the uppermost position.

Detachably seated in the vertical chamber 22 of the housing 18 is a vertical mounting pin 38 to which are secured a pair of elongate rods 40, the rods being disposed in spaced apart apertures 36 in the pin 38 so as to extend in side-by-side and generally parallel relationship like two tines of a fork. When the shell catcher is in fully seated operative position as shown in FIGS. 1-3, the rods extend forwardly along the top and bottom of the ejection opening 6 to provide a pair of slightly flexible spring arms adjacent and slightly inwardly of the top and bottom margins thereof. As best shown in FIG. 2,

the mounted ends of the rods 40 are spaced apart a distance of approximately the outer diameter of the body of the shell 41 (shown in phantom) utilized in the shotgun and may be slightly bent towards each other so as to taper to a smaller width adjacent the forward end of the ejection opening 6, which width is normally somewhat less than the diameter of the body of the shell. Even though the arms 40 are spaced apart slightly less than the diameter of the shell, they can readily be spread apart with little force to receive the body of the shell therebetween. The distance between the arms 40 is, of course, less than the diameter of the head or rim 48 of the shell so that the. rim 48 cannot pass therethrough but will engage against the arms 41 Preferably, the rods 40 have enlarged portions or caps 42 at their free ends to normally prevent the expelled shell from sliding outwardly therebetween.

The mounting pin 38 of the shell-catcher fork is provided with a slot 44 spaced upwardly from the bottom end thereof and registering with the longitudinal chamber 20 and plunger 24 carried therein so that the springactuated plunger 24 willengage in the slot 44 when the fork is turned in the forward operative position or within a quarter turn thereof and thus prevent vertical disengagement. The spring-actuated plunger 24 bears against the vertical flat of the slot 44 with sufficient force to constantly urge the fork into the forward position shown in FIGS. 1-3 wherein the rods 40 project forwardly and yieldingly bear against the side of the receiver 4 slightly inwardly of the top and bottom of the ejection opening 6. To remove the fork, it is only necessary to pivot the rods 40 to the rear, thus rotating the pin 38 approximately a half turn which is sufiicient to cam the plunger 24 outwardly of the slot 44 and permit the pin 38 to be withdrawn.

To permit and facilitate assembly of the device, the mounting pin 38 has a bevelled bottom edge 46 diametrically opposite to the slot 44, which bevelled edge cooperates with the bevelled top edge 29 of the plunger 24 so that, when the fork is turned 180 from its operative position and into the rearward position as shown in FIG. 4, the two bevelled edges will register and downward movement of the mounting pin 38 will cam the plunger 24 forwardly against the spring 26. After the pin 38 has bottomed in the vertical passage 22 in which position the slot 44 will register with the plunger 24, the fork is rotated 180 into operative position and the plunger 24 engages the slot 44 of the mounting pin 38 to prevent it from being disengaged and to hold it yieldingly in forward operative position.

In operation of a shotgun embodying the present invention, the spring arms or fork provided by the elongate rods 40 of the catcher are held yieldingly against the side of the receiver 4 and extend slightly within the top and bottom margins of the ejection opening 6. As the breech block 14 moves rearwardly after firing, the spent shell 41 (shown in dotted line) is extracted from the firing chamber and drawn rearwardly until it is ejected laterally by the ejector (not shown). As the shell is ejected, the body of the shell is automatically turned outwardly through the ejection opening 6 and passes between the spring arms 40 until the head or rim 48 engages the arms and the shell is prevented-from further movement. The violence of the ejection may cause the arms to pivot outwardly from the receiver 4 against the pressure of the spring actuated plunger 24, but the shell will be prevented from slipping between the enlarged portions 42. Thus, the expelled shell is held onto the outside of the firearm and cannot injure or annoy an adjacent shooter and can be readily removed by the shooter for disposal or storage for reuse.

Since the rods are attached rearwardly of the opening and extend above and below the operating handle slot 7, there is no interference with the normal operation of the weapon and particularly with the operating handle 16. When it is desired to utilize the weapon for normal semiautomatic operation in the field or for shooting at double targets, the catcher fork is readily removed and stored, this being accomplished as previously mentioned without the need for any tools. The housing 18, which as previously mentioned is of small size and light weight, remains unobstrusively on the side of the receiver and does not interfere in any manner with normal usage of the weapon. If so desired, the housing 18 may be engraved or otherwise surfaced to blend into the design of the receiver.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a simple and rugged assembly for catching the ejected shells to prevent annoyance and injury to adjacent shooters. The shell is captured without damage and can be removed readily by sliding outwardly through the free ends of the rods and collected for reloading. The shell-catcher fork can be quickly disassembled from the housing when not required, and the housing which remains affixed to the side of the receiver is sufiiciently small and unobtrusive so as to not materially affect the appearance 'of the weapon.

As Will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure above described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. 'In combination, a repeating firearm having a receiver with an opening in one side thereof for ejection of empty shells and a shell catcher secured to the receiver in registry with the said opening thereof, said shell catcher having means disposed at the side of the receiver adjacent the top and bottom margins of the receiver opening and spaced apart a distance for receiving the shell and being engageable with the head of the shell to prevent further movement thereof and second means biasing said first means toward the opening in said receiver.

2. In combination, a repeating firearm having a receiver with an opening in one side thereof for ejection of empty shells and a shell catcher secured to the receiver in registry with the said opening thereof, said shell catcher comprising a pair of arms extendings along the side of the receiver adjacent the top and bottom margins of the receiver opening, said arms being spaced apart a distance to receive the body of an ejected shell therebetween but being engageable with the head of the shell to halt further movement of the shell.

3. In combination, a repeating firearm having an opening in one side thereof forejection of empty shells and a shell catcher comprising a pair of rods and means mounting one end of the rods on the receiver with the rods extending in generally parallel relationship along the side of the receiver adjacent the top and bottom margins of the receiver, said rods being spaced apart a distance to receive the body of an ejected shell therebetween but being engageable with the head of the shell to halt further movement thereof.

4. In combination, a repeating firearm having an opening in one side thereof for ejection of empty shells and a shell catcher comprising a pair of rods, means pivotally mounting one end of the rods on the receiver for movement toward and away from an operating position extending along the side of the receiver in registry with the opening thereof, said rods being spaced apart a distance to receive the body of an ejected shell therebetween but belng engageable with the head of the shell, and means 'blaslng the rods to said operating position.

5. In combination, a repeatingfirearm of the type havmg a receiver with an opening in one side thereof for ejection of spent shells; a pair of elongate spring arms;

and means disposed rearwardly of said ejection opening detachably mounting said spring arms on the receiver w th the arms extending along the side of the receiver between the top and bottom margins of. the receiver opening, said spring arms being spaced apart a distance to receive the body of an ejected shell therebetween but preventing further movement thereof by engagement with the head of the shell.

6. In combination, a repeating firearm of the type having a receiver with an ejection opening in one side thereof for ejection of spent shells; a pair of elongate spring arms having enlargements at one end; and means on said receiver rearwardly of the ejection opening detachably mounting the other ends of said spring arms, said spring arms extending between the top and bottom margins of said ejection opening and being spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of the body of a shell utilized in said firearm adjacent the ejection opening, said detachable mounting means yieldably urging said spring arms against the side of said receiver, said spring arms having enlarged free ends and being spaced apart to receive the body of a shell ejected from said firearm but preventing further movement thereof by engagement with the head of the shell.

7. In combination, a repeating firearm of the type having a receiver with an elongated opening in one side thereof for ejection of spent shells; a housing mounted on said one side of the receiver below and rearwardly of said opening; a shell catcher fork having pivot means detachably seated in said housing and having a pair of elongated spring arms extending forwardly of the receiver and inwardly of the top and bottom margins of the receiver opening, said arms being spaced apart a distance to receive the body of a shell ejected from said opening but preventing further movement by engagement with the head of the shell; and means in said housing releasably holding said pivot means against inadvertent release therefrom and yieldably urging said spring arms against said one side of the receiver.

8. A shell catching device for use with a repeating the arm of the type having a receiver with an opening in one side thereof for ejection of spent shells comprising a mounting member for attachment to the side of a receiver and a shell catcher pivotally attached to the mounting mmber, said shell catcher comprising a pair of arms extending in generally parallel relationship from the mounting member and being spaced apart a distance to receive the body of an ejected shell therebetween and to engage the head .of the shell to halt further movement of the shell.

9. A shell catching device as set forth in claim 8 wherein the mounting member is a housing and the pair of arms are attached at one end toa pivot pin seated in the housing.

10. A shell catching device as set forth in claim 9 wherein the pivot pin has a fiat surface thereon and the housing contains a spring pressed plunger bearing against said flat surface thereby urging the pivot pin to a predetermined notated position.

11. A shell catching device as set forth in claim 10 wherein the ends of the pivot pin and plunger have cooperating camming surfaces permitting endwise insertion of the pivto pin into the housing.

12. A shell catching device for use with a repeating firearm of the type having a receiver with an opening in one side thereof for ejection of spent shells comprising a pair of generally parallel arms secured at one end to a pivot pin member, said arms being spaced apart a distance to receive the body of an ejected shell therebetween and to engage the head of the shell to prevent further movement of the shell, and a housing for attachment to the side of a receiver, said housing having a first channel for receiving one end of the pivot pin member and a second channel transverse to the first channel, and a spring pressed plunger member in said second channel normally projecting into the first channel, said pivot pin member having a notch therein for receiving the nose of the plunger member when the pivot pin member is fully seated in said first channel and disposed in predetermined rotated position, said plunger member being disengageable from the notch upon rotation of the pivot pin member from said predetermined rotated position, said members having cooperating camming surfaces engageable when the pivot pin is inserted into the first channel effective to cam the plunger member away from the first channel to permit the pivot pin member to be inserted to fully seated position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 374,597 Gregg Dec. 13, 1887 

1. IN COMBINATION, A REPEATING FIREARM HAVING A RECEIVER WITH AN OPENING IN ONE SIDE THEREOF FOR EJECTION OF EMPTY SHELLS AND A SHELL CATCHER SECURED TO THE RECEIVER IN REGISTRY WITH THE SAID OPENING THEREOF, SAID SHELL CATCHER HAVING MEANS DISPOSED AT THE SIDE OF THE RECEIVER ADJACENT THE TOP AND BOTTOM MARGINS OF THE RECEIVER OPENING AND SPACED APART A DISTANCE FOR RECEIVING THE SHELL AND BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH THE HEAD OF THE SHELL TO PREVENT FURTHER MOVEMENT THEREOF AND SECOND MEANS BIASING SAID FIRST MEANS TOWARD THE OPENING IN SAID RECEIVER. 